Writing Romance

Representing_Tromba

Sleep deprived mess of an author begging for feedb
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When the characters continue to grow on each other to the point they admit their feelings. Would you have one of them say they love that person after the build up or ask them to go on date while say they like them in a big way?
I agree with Prince. It's more like the next step in the relationship. yeah, they can admit their feelings but they wouldn't know if they actually love them until they spend some time dating and getting to know each other. You can't know if you love someone until you actually know them so having them say that they love them sounds like they're jumping the gun, being clingy, needy, and cringe. The best way to go in real life is the 100% honest route, but having one of them not reveal a bad secret that could ruin the relationship is great for drama and tension.
 

RynnTheTired

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It really depends on the characters. Different people express their feelings in different ways. I think for most people, using the word "love" would be a bit much at that point, but for some particularly effusive characters, it could work. And on the other end of the spectrum, there are characters where just saying something like "I don't completely hate being around you" would be a huge relationship milestone.
 
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Deleted member 84247

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I would say that it always depends on the characters. If they have known each other and been around each other a lot there is a chance they could actually love the person. Sometimes romantic love is not that different from people who are already friends. Love at first sight is also a thing in a lot of stories. Whatever you do isn't wrong. Most people will say that you should know a person really well, but fantasy isn't like that. Neither is real life. Plenty of people get married after not knowing each other for even a year. Sure many of those don't work out, but sometimes it does.
TLDR: Do whatever you feel is best.
 

ArchlordZero

Stage 4 Cancer Shitposter
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I've seen a great love story where the girl asked to hang out (but what they did is basically a date) and then the girl confessed to the MC at the end of this "date". You can try this formula if you want.
 

ArcadiaBlade

I'm a Lazy Writer, So What?
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Love is unexpected. You might think logically or rationality but at the end of the day, someone can confess even on their deathbed.

I mean it might seem stupid and plain obvious that it doesn't work that way but I can say for the fact that there's one stupid mofo who just gets stabbed, says to the girl who he just meets for 3 days and say 'I love you' while laughing at the same time dying.
 

RepresentingCaution

Level 37 ? ? Pronouns: she/whore ♀
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Duh . . . unless you're not writing romance but tragedy or horror or something.
 

bokhi

Not a Desert Crow Witch
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Like many of the posters have already said, it really depends. I second the posts about the type of characters, but I will also add that the cultural context matters. If the cultural norm in your setting is similar to that of modern Western, English-speaking countries, the expectation will likely be to date for something similar, like dating for x number of months before going steady, then a y number of months before marriage. However, other cultures expect either longer or shorter periods of courtship where acceptable expressions of affections may vary in intensity. Whether a love confession is considered inappropriate or not is largely informed by what is considered "normal" in that culture. Will every single person agree? No. But it's likely that most people's outlooks will have been informed by their environment in some way, so this is where the personal traits of the character in conjunction with whether they fit into the norms of their culture come into play.

Also keep in mind that our modern norms have a lot to do with our level of technology. Quick example: chaperoning was a real cultural phenomenon before the invention of our modern and varied forms of birth control, for obvious reasons. Even if you have birth control, the frequency of plagues and other diseases will also contribute to the modulation of courtship behaviour. So my recommendation is to take not only the characters' temperaments into account, but also the overall cultural and societal environment at play.

There are other factors, but this post is long enough. Tl;dr: look at the context and write the sort of behaviour that fits.
 

TheEldritchGod

A Cloud Of Pure Spite And Eyes
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Hi! Thanks for accepting my invite! Let me show you around my home! I won't bother showing you the basement.

You'll be seeing plenty of that LATER.

BTW, who knows you are here?
 
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